I'm sort of hit and miss when it comes to jumping on a popular TV show bandwagon. Case in point: I still haven't seen any episodes of either The Sopranos or Breaking Bad. Yup. Let that sink in.
I do think that Netflix and Amazon have made me less reluctant to adopt new shows because I can binge watch. I guess I like immediate gratification.
When Stranger Things became all the rage, I was a tiny bit reluctant to watch. Did I want a new show to obsess over? Did it sound too scary (I've become a big wimp in my old age)? Could I manage a whole show with Winona Ryder?? But I did it. And I'm super glad I did.
I really enjoyed this show. The 1980s immersion is amazing. The writing is really good. The acting is wonderful - particularly the kids. So impressive.
The Duffer Brothers are the creative force behind this. They are just babies, though, so I imagine their love of the 80's comes from their parents (like my love of Gene Kelly). I can just hear their parents saying, "You HAVE to watch E.T. We watched it when we were kids!" This is only their second big project - if they continue in this trajectory I think we can expect great things from these twins.
I was reading some articles about the show and I came across the movies that inspired them, which I thought was interesting. They said they asked the kids to watch Stand By Me, The Goonies and Poltergeist. They asked their writers to watch The Thing, E.T. and A Nightmare on Elm St.
I would wager there was heavy inspiration from Alien and Firestarter as well. I mean, Eleven has some total "Drew Barrymore as Charlie" moments when she's inflicting her will on people and the fact that we only get glimpses of the monster throughout the show has Ridley Scott written all over it. Good stuff.
So for my post I thought I'd watch some of the aforementioned inspirational movies. I picked one from each category. I thought about watching The Thing (80's version) because it's been YEARS since I've seen it but I didn't have it in me this weekend. Oddly, this showed up in my FB feed this week and it's really brilliant. It's a stop motion "claymation" version of The Thing and it's worth your time. Trust me.
What I discovered in my quest to be one with the Duffer Brothers influences is that their tribute to the 80s is a bit less of an homage and cozies right up to being plagiarism. I mean - they REALLY lifted stuff from these films. If they were writing a term paper, the teacher would have totally called them out on this shit. Let's examine.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - released in 1982
This is like the Who's Who of 1980s movies.
Directed by Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy. Written by Melissa Mathison (Mrs. Harrison Ford for 21 years...until he met the stick figure). Music by John Williams. It's like Hollywood royalty.
I wasn't sure how I was going to react to seeing this movie again. I honestly think I've only maybe seen it once since the first time at the Century Theatre in San Jose when I was 18 years old. I remember being so affected by it then, I was practically sobbing in the theatre. And I hate crying in public. That stinkin' Spielberg really knows how to access the feels.
Well it happened again. I was a blubbery mess and not only at the "I'll be right here" forehead-tapping moment. I started tearing up at the Phone Home part. And don't even get me started about the part when everyone thinks he died. Now that I have a bit of life experience behind me, I realize that a big part of this film's emotional pull for me is that no matter how much Elliott loves him, E.T. will always be an outsider and it will never work. I know this hit me on a visceral level when I was younger, too. I don't know why this theme affects me like it does (well, maybe I have an inkling), but there you have it. I'm leaving this piece of emotional baggage in the trunk for now, thanks.
Say what you will about old Steven S, but I think he's a darn good director. I had never noticed this before (maybe it was obvious to others) but for the first 3/4 of the movie - an hour and a half - the only adult face you see is Elliott's mom. Elliott's teacher, the guy with the keys, all the government folks - anonymous. This is a movie about kids handling shit. I thought it was a great touch. Also, there is mist and fog and atmosphere all over this movie. Nice touch when conveying that nothing in life or relationships is black and white, right? It was so reminiscent of a Ridley Scott film, actually.
In this movie, the kids are great actors. Each one actually gives a nuanced performance. And that little Drew Barrymore could not be more adorable.
Elements of plagiarism:
- Like Stranger Things, the gang of boys is playing Dungeons and Dragons at the beginning and the D&D verbiage comes up a couple times in the film.
- Boys on bikes - specifically racing away from the government vans.
- Precocious younger sister - Elliott has Gert, Michael of Stranger Things has Holly.
- Eleven is sequestered in Michael's basement. E.T. is sequestered in Elliott's room. Unbelievably, at no time do the parents clue in. (this would never have happened in my house)
- The Keys guy in E.T. (Peter Coyote) and the head scientist in Stranger Things (Matthew Modine) look a lot alike.
Central casting - get me a scary scientist type STAT!
And seriously, what could be more iconic than this?
(My drink pairing: E.T. gets himself and Elliott drunk off of a couple of beers in cans. So you know your mission.)
The Goonies - released in 1985
Hey, youuuuuu guuuuys!!
I will admit I was a bit older when I first saw this than the demographic of Goonies lovers. So I like the movie. I think I'm about 10 years too old for "love". It's a really fun film - like a roller coaster ride. Non-stop action, lovable characters. It's not like these character have depth or anything silly like that but they are easy to relate to.
This is another film that has the Spielberg/Kennedy dream team as producers. Richard Donner directed (also of Christopher Reeves Superman fame).
I got a bit tired of the nonstop kid "yelling as acting" style. I was frankly shocked that poor little Short Round (okay, he's called Data here but I couldn't get beyond his Indiana Jones character) didn't lose his voice while they were filming this. I know this is how kids actually interact, but still. The kids are also super affectionate with each other, which is sweet, but not how I think a group of boys typically behave. Short Round and Sean Astin skip arm in arm A LOT in this movie. Skipping. Hugging. Weird.
Chris Columbus (Harry Potter, Mrs. Doubtfire) wrote this. As I've established in this blog, I'm not a big fan of his but I will say I probably enjoy his writing more than his directing. This movie is a good time, without a doubt.
Elements of plagiarism:
- Dustin in Stranger Things is pretty much Chunk although Dustin has more street cred. Chunk is pretty one note in his quest for food (at one point he's drinking water out of a cooler in the gross, dirty, abandoned restaurant they are in and I was so worried it wasn't potable that I got distracted from the plot - I'm using the word "plot" loosely, btw) while Dustin seems to have a few other interests (not that food isn't important).
- Barb in Stranger Things is almost a direct lift of the Martha Plimpton character - not only looks-wise but the fact that she is clearly the perennial wing woman to Nancy/Andi. Martha makes it to the end, though. Sorry Barb.
Come on! Same-same, right?
Finally, the Sloth element of this movie is pretty darn fucked up. I don't think anyone could get away with a character like that anymore in our PC world. His mother dropped him on his head several times which is a joke in the film? Yowch. And his ears are constantly moving. Why? Why do they move?? Chunk loves him, though, and tells him multiple times, so there's that.
(My drink pairing with this is a Cape Cod. Cuz even though it's Astoria, OR - it reminds me of the East Coast. Plus vodka and cranberry juice - yum!)
My takeaways:
#1 - Time marches on.
E.T. cast - Thirty years later!
The Goonies cast - Twenty five years later!
#2 - Here's the best though:
WTF!
xoxo...hastagSueslife
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